


love by any other name

by eversall



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Love Spell, M/M, shenanigans all around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 12:19:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10662441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eversall/pseuds/eversall
Summary: “I see Jace wasn’t hit.” Magnus says, his tone light even as he waves a hand and freezes Clary in mid-lunge towards Simon. He waves a hand over Alec and Izzy and they become similarly frozen; Simon nearly cries in relief.“Yeah, no.” Jace says, curiously moving to poke at Alec’s outstretched, still hand, and then pouting as Simon slaps his hand away. “It hit me too, but since I - “ He freezes mid-pout, his eyes going comically wide, and then he turns away, facing Magnus and running a hand through his hair. “I just wasn’t affected.” He finishes, his voice curiously blank.What? How could Jacenothave been affected if he was directly hit by it? It’s a love spell, it should automatically make everyone fall in love with Simon, unless -





	love by any other name

**Author's Note:**

> anon on tumblr prompted me with an idea from this [ post ](http://neonlightwood.tumblr.com/post/159443920965/what-is-the-point-of-having-a-show-about-beautiful) by [ neonlightwood](http://neonlightwood.tumblr.com/):
> 
> "simon gets hit with a curse that makes everyone fall in love with him except for jace, simon thinks its because jace’s disregard for him is so strong not even MAGIC can effect it but really its because jace’s regular life involves him keeping his feelings for simon under control so this is just another day for him."
> 
> i was actually dead tired when i wrote this so i'm sorry if there are any mistakes. i think i caught most of them but you never know. 
> 
> aaaaand you know the usual spiel. you can always prompt me on [ tumblr ](http://eversall.tumblr.com/)!! i feel like i should clarify that a) i don't only write jace/simon and b) i really don't bite, feel free to talk to me about any shadowhunter ideas you may have. it can be on anon, but it doesn't have to be on anon. i'm a chill person, y'all, talk to me off anon.

The first thing Simon notices when he gets back to the Institute after being stuck in a meeting with the Pennsylvania vampires is the unnaturally strong smell of flowers. He pauses by the front doors as his senses are suddenly overwhelmed with - rose, it seems like. Did someone spill cologne or something? 

He gets his answer when he walks into his room and sees that it’s  _covered_  in roses. In fact, there’s no room to walk except a tiny path from the door to his bed, the rest of the place engulfed by roses of every shape, size, and color. Simon’s seen a lot of weird shit over the past few months as a Daylighter, but this is absolutely ridiculous. 

He doesn’t even  _like_  roses, what the fuck. 

He backs slowly out of his room and shuts the door, counts to ten, and opens it again. Nope, the roses are still there. He’s beginning to panic. 

“Clary!” He hisses, spinning on his heel with the intention of tracking her down so she can help him figure out what’s going on. Instead, he runs headfirst into Izzy, who smiles broadly at him. 

“Well  _hello_ , Simon.” She  _purrs_. She sashays forward - there’s really no other word for it - and pouts prettily at him. “Didn’t you see my surprise?” 

“Hey, Izzy,” Simon says, laughing nervously, “I, uh, yeah, I saw the roses! Haha, good…joke…” He trails off weakly as she runs a perfectly manicured nail down his arm, her touch light and very alarmingly  _sensual._

_“_ Did you like it?” Izzy asks, her eyes darkening as she licks her lips and presses forward even closer. “I just want to make you happy, you know.” 

And  _no_. Simon can write off most of the other stuff as a joke, but the soft sincerity in Izzy’s voice is usually only reserved for her  _girlfriend_ , who is - who is stomping down the hallway right now, her eyes glittering with anger. Simon gulps and uses his speed to put some distance between himself and Izzy. 

_“_ Listen, Clary,” he begins, his hands held up in surrender as Clary draws closer, “I’m not trying to - “

_“_ I cannot  _believe_  you!” She screams angrily - at Izzy. Simon frowns uncomfortable. “Simon is  _mine_!” 

What _._

_“_ No he isn’t.” Izzy hisses back, her hands on her hips as she glares Clary down. Clary actually  _shoves_  Izzy at that, and Simon’s immediately between the two of them, pushing them apart. 

“OKAY.” He announces loudly. “Let’s calm down and think about this.” 

“There’s nothing to think about.” Clary declares, still glaring at Izzy. “I’m in love with you, and she’s sabotaging our relationship.” 

“Our  _what_.” Simon says flatly, even as Izzy snaps back, “He’s been there, done that. He wants  _me_  now, because I love him better.” Simon has  _barely_  any time to process both these horrifying revelations before he hears the sound of someone else coming down the hallway, and he looks up to see Alec striding up towards them. 

“Oh thank God.” He slumps in relief, letting go of the girls and taking a step forward. “Alec, I never thought I’d say this but I am  _so_ glad to see you.” 

“Really?” Alec asks as he draws near, his voice quiet and - off. Something about it is definitely off. Simon stops and stares as, slowly, ever so slowly - 

Alec  _smiles_  at him. 

It’s slow, and shy, but definitely aimed at Simon, and oh  _God_ , what is happening here? Alec doesn’t smile at him. Alec tosses out things that are borderline hateful, and barely tolerates Simon most of the time; they work okay when they’re on patrol, but personality-wise Alec genuinely finds Simon exhausting. (And not the kind of exhausting Jace seems to find Simon, the kind where Jace half-smiles at everything Simon says and keeps coming back to hang out with him.)

“I’m glad to see you too.” Alec continues, his eyes earnest as he stares at Simon. Simon backs away before he remembers that Clary and Izzy are behind him, and he lets out an embarrassing whimper as he spins in a slow circle, trapped by three people smiling at him with varying levels of intensity.

“Oh please,” Izzy snorts, “Alec’s hardly deserving of you. You need someone who loves you for you.” 

“Yeah.” Clary says. “Which is why you should be with  _me_ , because I’ve loved you since we were six.” 

“He need someone who understands him.” Alec argues in response.  

At some other time, maybe, this would be funny, but it’s starting to genuinely freak Simon out. Seeing his friends act completely unlike themselves is messing with his mind and making him feel trapped here, the walls closing in as everything familiar is pulled out from under him. He desperately tries to edge out of the tiny circle they’ve created, but the three of them are clamoring for his attention. 

“I gotta go,” he says, physically flinching when Alec reaches out, presumably to touch him, “no, please, don’t - “

“Simon?” a voice calls out, strong and steady, and Simon almost whimpers with relief as he turns to the source.  _Jace_. Jace, who is coming down the hallway with his usual half-smug look firmly in place, his eyes curious as he takes in the scene. Simon ducks under Alec’s arm and  _races_  down the hall, ignoring the pounding feet as the other three follow him, skidding to a stop in front of Jace and desperately shaking him. 

“Quick!” Simon says. “Are you suddenly in love with me?” 

“ _No_.” Jace spits out, his eyes wide, the answer coming so fast it sends a tiny pang of hurt through Simon’s chest. It’s - he’s  _accepted_  the fact that Jace doesn’t like him that way, but still. Every once in a while he’s reminded of the fact again and it hurts all over again, a quiet, thick layer of heartbreak that never quite goes away. 

Whatever. Now isn’t the time to dwell on it. 

“Great.” Simon says, manhandling a bemused Jace in front of him as a human shield as Clary, Izzy, and Alec push and shove at each other. “Because  _they_ are, and generally I’d think something like that was funny but it’s scary as fuck and I really just want everything to go back to normal it’s freaking me out Jace - “

“Slow down.” Jace says lowly, one hand going to the knife strapped to his thigh holster and the other held out in front of Simon, an extra barrier between Simon and his crazed friends. Simon nearly cries in relief - Jace has immediately dropped into serious Shadowhunter mode, Jace is taking him  _seriously_  and has his eyes trained on the other three. He’s subtly shifted so his body’s shielding Simon even further, and despite everything - Simon feels safe, with Jace there. 

“I don’t know how this started.” Simon confesses, a sudden tremor in his voice as he takes in the ugly look on Alec’s face as he glares at Jace. It’s  _wrong_. 

“I think I do.” Jace says slowly. “I should have figured. We were going through Central Park and there was a warlock who was practicing his spells. He was young, and he didn’t have a mentor.” 

“All of you?” Simon asks, reaching out a hand and tangling his fingers in the back of Jace’s shirt as something to anchor himself with as he keeps eyes trained in front too. Alec doesn’t have his bow, but Izzy’s drawing a blade out of her boot and Clary’s removing her stele from her pocket. He’s not sure what’s happening, but he’s pretty sure that it’s not going to be good. The arguing hasn’t stopped - Izzy and Clary are still trading barbs - but Alec’s eyeing them sharply, his stance predatory. It’s easy to forget that Alec’s head of the Institute not only because of his diplomatic skills, but because he’s second only to Jace in his skills. 

“All four of us.” Jace confirms. “He freaked out and put a little too much power into a spell he lobbed at us.” 

“Okay.” Simon says, slowly sliding his hand down Jace’s back. “Don’t freak out, I’m getting your phone.” He adds quietly as Jace’s body stiffens at the contact. In any other situation, Simon would never have been so forward, but he needs Jace’s phone since he left his in his room. 

“ _I’m_  not freaking out.” Jace mutter sullenly, and Simon smiles slightly at that, at the  _normalcy_  of Jace being grumpy. “I’ve been pressing against my parabatai bond with Alec. It feels like something’s covering it, stifling it, but - I think I can get through long enough to get him to back off.” 

“I’m going to call Magnus.” Simon says softly, his fingers creeping across the waistband of Jace’s jeans until he feels the solid outline of a phone and pulls it out. At the same moment, Alec leaps forward, slamming into Jace and sending SImon scrambling back.

Jace grunts with the force of the shove and staggers sideways, his expression unsure as he clenches his hands and ducks out of the way of Alec’s swings. Clary and Izzy seem content to continue circling, slowly pacing forward, and Simon scrambles to unlock Jace’s phone. 

“Passcode!” Simon hisses, and Jace sighs minutely. 

“011216!” He calls out, catching Alec’s punch and pushing him back with the force of it. “Alec,  _stop,_ remember your  _boyfriend_.” Alec doesn’t respond, and instead snarls, a  _terrifying_  expression, and Simon gulps as he holds the phone up to his ear.

“Jace, be  _careful!”_  He cries out as Izzy takes her own stab at him, her blade whistling sharply through the air. Jace twists and steps into her throw, deftly maneuvering her blade out of her hand and sending it thudding into the wall with a flick of his wrist. “Oh  _God_  - Magnus!” He shouts with relief, hovering uncertainly at the edge of Jace’s fight as the dial tone cuts off and the line connects. 

“You’re…not Jace.” Magnus’ says, surprised, and Simon groans. 

“It’s Simon, love spell, everyone’s under it, even Alec.” He fires off rapidly, his eyes tracking Jace’s movements, the way the blonde Shadowhunter has his teeth gritted, a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. He looks strained, fighting through the parabatai bond while still holding his own in the fight. “Come  _quickly_ , Jace is the only one who’s sane - “

“I’ll be there.” Magnus says briskly, and the line cuts. Simon shouts as Izzy’s heel nearly slams into Jace’s skull, and he stumbles forward into the fight, putting himself between Jace and the others.

“Nope, nope, nope, no murder today!” Simon says, panicking as Jace slumps forward and rests his forehead against Simon’s. 

“The bond - it’s so - feels like slamming my head against a brick wall.” Jace mutters against Simon’s back. They’re in a strange role reversal from just five minutes ago, with Simon standing as a human shield in front of Jace. 

“Simon, come on.” Clary cajoles. “It’ll be just us, Simon and Clary, like always - “

“What can  _Fray_ give you that I can’t?” Alec demands brusquely, and Simon blinks. 

“How you wooed Magnus, I’ll never understand.” He whispers under his breath, and despite the severity of the situation he hears Jace snort from behind him, finally straightening up. They hear the unmistakable noise of a portal  then, and turn to see Magnus step out near the end of the hallway and stop, his mouth half-open. 

“What on earth?” He exclaims, and then snaps his fingers, blinking when nothing happens. “Hm. Powerful warlock spell, but nothing we can’t solve.” 

“He’s  _mine_ ,” Izzy snarls at Magnus, “so back off.” 

“Rest assured,” Magnus says dryly, “he is nowhere near who I want.” 

“Great, okay, let’s solve this  _now_.” Simon bemoans, and Magnus glances over at the two of them, a curious expression crossing his face. 

“I see Jace wasn’t hit.” He says, his tone light even as he waves a hand and freezes Clary in mid-lunge towards Simon. He waves a hand over Alec and Izzy and they become similarly frozen; Simon nearly cries in relief. 

“Yeah, no.” Jace says, curiously moving to poke at Alec’s outstretched, still hand, and then pouting as Simon slaps his hand away. “It hit me too, but since I - “ He freezes mid-pout, his eyes going comically wide, and then he turns away, facing Magnus and running a hand through his hair. “I just wasn’t affected.” He finishes, his voice curiously blank. 

What? How could Jace  _not_ have been affected if he was directly hit by it? It’s a love spell, it should automatically make everyone fall in love with Simon, unless - 

Unless, of course, there’s a feeling that outweighs even the love. Hate. Jace hates him, more than he apparently lets on. 

Simon reels back, feeling like he’s been slapped, his heart shattering into pieces on the floor. He thought he and Jace were  _friends_ , at least; he’d long since accepted that Jace would never look twice at him in the way he’d like to be looked at but  _friendship_ , he would have taken the  _friendship_ , because it’s one of the most precious fucking things in his life, but no - of course Simon Lewis doesn’t get that either, of course he’s fucked that up too, of  _course_  he’s managed to drive away yet another person he cares about with his obnoxious personality, an endless cycle of loving and losing - 

“Simon?” Jace asks, his voice concerned as Simon goes eerily, supernaturally still, his mind falling apart and reforming in true Simon Lewis fashion. He can go on. He can do this. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again.

“Fine.” Simon says shortly, hating the way Jace’s eyes are worried as he takes in Simon’s blank expression. Jace doesn’t have any right to pretend he’s worried about anything other than his siblings under some spell. 

“Right.” Magnus says, staring between the two of them. “Lovely. I’m going to portal us all to my loft, if you don’t mind.” Simon nods his assent, and Jace grunts in affirmation, his eyes still locked on Simon’s with a burning unfamiliarity. Simon averts his eyes, instead watching Magnus create a portal and send the still frozen bodies of Clary, Izzy, and Alec through, then stepping through and waving a hand at Simon and Jace to follow. 

They step through, and Simon’s struck for a second with the familiar nausea, something’s he’s  _still_  not gotten used to. He staggers forward as he lands in the loft, his stomach dry-heaving and a brief flash of pain going through his body; Jace, who landed much more smoothly, catches him in his arms. 

Simon blinks as Jace hauls him upright, caught in a cage between Jace’s impressive biceps.  _Muscles!_ his brain helpfully screams at him, while his heart is stuck somewhere between swooning over Jace’s eyes and Jace’s half-smile as he takes in Simon. 

_Hates me_ , Simon reminds himself forcefully, stepping out of Jace’s arms and biting his lip. 

“Thanks.” He says softly, and for a second he swears it’s just them as Jace smiles for real, genuine and soft. Simon  _hates it_ , hates how much he loves that smile and  _craves_ it, even with definitive proof that Jace doesn’t like him. At all. 

“Still haven’t gotten the hang of it, Lewis?” Jace asks, and Simon huffs out a laugh.  _This_  is familiar.  _This_  he can deal with. 

“Still haven’t learned how to drive?” Simon shoots back, and Jace grimaces. 

“Fair.” He allows as Magnus reappears, his hands uncorking a bottle of green powder. 

“This should help.” He says cheerfully, waving his hand over the others and unfreezing them. They immediately spin in a circle, taking in their change of surroundings with a confused expression on their face. 

“This is different.” Clary says, even as Simon ducks behind Magnus’ kitchen counter. He glares at Jace, who is still in his line of sight and snickering at Simon’s desperate attempt to hide. “Where’s Simon?” She continues. 

“I’ve composed a poem for him.” Izzy announces. It seems like they only turn to violence when Simon is actually there, and he sighs in relief and makes himself comfortable on the floor. “Where is he? Poetry is another one of those things, like cooking, that I’m good at - “

“No.” Jace says delightedly. “Please share, Iz.” 

“ _No_. And  _that_  is my cue to stop this.” Magnus hastily says. There’s a muted green hue that covers the apartment then, and the sharp, smoky smell of magic, and then silence. Simon holds his breath, hoping - 

“Oh  _no_.” Alec groans. “Please tell me I’m dreaming.” 

“I’m afraid not, darling.” Magnus says apologetically, and Simon lets out a whoop and pops up from behind the counter, taking in his restored,  _sane_  friends. 

“Finally!” He crows, and Clary looks over at him, her expression bemused, arching an eyebrow. 

“Did I…seriously attack you, Izzy?” She asks, and Izzy grimaces, looking at Jace. 

“We all attacked Jace.” She says, staring at her brother. “I’m so sorry - “

“It’s fine.” Jace says, waving her apologies off. “You were all under a spell.” 

“I’ve never felt anything like that.” Alec says, his expression bewildered. “That’s not what being in love feels like. It was so…desperate, and bittersweet.” 

“I felt as though I had already lost Simon,” Clary agrees, frowning, “which doesn’t make sense because I was still trying to win him over.” Simon frowns as he leans against the counter, looking at all of them. 

“Maybe the warlock just didn’t know what love was.” He offers, and Jace shrugs. 

“Or it was just a poorly executed spell, with only raw power.” He points out, looking at SImon, and Simon nods. 

“Oh, no.” Magnus says, making his way to his armchair and reclining lazily in it. “Far from it. It was perfectly executed.” His voice is dramatic, and Alec groans. 

“Mags, really?” He asks, his voice coloring in disbelief. “You’re up to something.”

“Alexander, I cannot believe you’d accuse me of such a thing.” Magnus says with as much dignity as he can muster as, his lips twitching despite his efforts. He snaps his fingers and summons himself a martini, looking in turn at all of them, like he’s gearing up to tell a story. 

“Well don’t keep us in suspense.” Izzy says, amused, as she perches on the ottoman. “Share with the class, Magnus.” 

“It wasn’t a  _love_ spell.” Magnus announces, lazily stirring the martini with the tip of his pinky, sparks dancing along the rim for added flair. “It was an amplification spell. The warlock took what someone already felt for Simon, and directly poured all that emotion into all of you. Emotions are meant to grow, and change; you adapt with them. Getting all of them dumped on you all at once - “

“ - can lead to catastrophic decisions like buying out a rose shop.” Izzy finishes, laughing. Clary snorts. 

“Who feels so strongly about Simon?” she muses, then looks at Simon quickly. “No offense - not in a rude way - but we all love you in a  _normal_ way, I think. The emotions I felt - that was sad.  _Pining_ , even, like - “ She cuts herself off and inhales sharply, understanding settling over her features. “ _Oh”_

_“_ Oh what?” Izzy asks.

“Jace,” Clary says slowly, “why weren’t you affected?” Jace stiffens, his face going blank, and Simon looks on in confusion. 

“It just didn’t.” He says, and Simon shrugs. 

“Jace doesn’t like me, like,  _at all_.” He tries to say lightly, his voice coming out choked up instead. “It’s hard to emulate strong feelings when there’s like stronger feeling of annoyance covering it, I think - “

“What?” Jace asks sharply, swinging around to face him, and Simon blinks in the face of the anger in Jace’s voice. “ _That’s_ what you think? That I wasn’t affected because I don’t  _like_ you?” 

“I - “ Simon begins, unsure of what to say, but Jace cuts him off with a bitter, dark laugh. 

“Fuck, no.” He says, shaking his head and continuing to laugh brokenly. “I don’t  _like_ you, I’m in  _love_ with you. That - that pathetic, bittersweet  _pining_ everyone felt was  _mine_ because I’ve been in love with you for so long I don’t remember how  _not_ to be.”

For the second time that day, Simon’s heart shatters - but this time it’s into something hopeful and unbelievable, a little flutter of possibility Simon had thought he’d lost long ago suddenly resurfacing and hitting him with a wave of emotion. An unfamiliar nervousness takes up residence in his stomach, his mind slowly catching up to his heart as he processes what’s happening. 

But Jace turns and leaves before Simon can do anything, frozen as he is. Simon watches him stride away, his mouth parting in surprise, before Alec stomps over and socks him in the shoulder as the door shuts behind Jace. 

“ _What_  are you still standing here for?” Alec growls, and Simon stares at him, uncomprehending. 

“Is this happening?” He mutters, mostly to himself, but it’s Magnus that answers, leaning forward and looking serious. 

“That boy is so used to being in love with you that the spell couldn’t change a single thing about his emotions. He was already too deep.” Magnus says, holding Simon’s gaze. “I’m guessing you know the feeling.”

And how can Simon argue with that? Because he  _knows_. He does. He always has, when it comes to Jace Wayland. 

“Okay,” Simon croaks out, nodding and straightening up, “okay.”

“Good luck!” Izzy calls out to him, and he nods distractedly, using his speed to run out of the loft and down the stairs, bursting out of the front doors into the cool night air - and running straight into Jace at the base of the front steps, sending them both tumbling to the ground. 

“Fuck!” Jace grunts, landing on the ground and bearing the brunt of the fall. “Simon?”

Simon looks down at him,  _really_ looking. He takes in Jace’s blond hair, fanning out around him like a blonde halo; his tired blue-brown eyes, an indescribable sadness in them that’s been there since Simon met him - probably for longer than that - and his absurdly long lashes; the firm press of muscles under Simon’s body, his thighs thick between Simon’s own legs; the graze of stubble against the tips of Simon fingers where he’s clutching Jace’s collar, staring down at him in a daze - 

“You need to shave,” Simon blurts out, his heart in his throat as Jace’s brow furrows in confusion, “and also, I love you. Like, I’m  _in_  love with you, the whole nine yards, I - am so gone for you, honestly.” 

“I.” Jace looks shocked, his mouth opening and closing, his gaze vulnerable and a little disbelieving. “I shaved yesterday?”

“Okay.” Simon says, his head still spinning. “You – yeah. Okay.”

“Okay.” Jace agrees, his hands moving to cradle Simon’s face, and suddenly they’re kissing, still sprawled on the ground. Jace surges up against him and Simon presses down, lips sliding together urgently as something unlocks in both of them; there’s a moan lost in the kiss, a breathless whimper swallowed down, tongues slipping in and mapping mouths. Simon doesn’t know where he ends and where Jace begins and he doesn’t want to find out – the kiss is desperate and thick with pent-up emotion, a promise to make up for lost time and a plea to make the most of the time they _do_ have. Because it’s an uncertain future for both of them, so while he can he’s going to clutch at Jace’s warm skin like a lifeline and memorize the feeling of Jace’s body under his.

Maybe not on the sidewalk, though. That part is getting a little inconvenient – until Jace slowly manouevers them upright, not breaking the kiss as Simon leans back, now straddling Jace. Then, in a move _straight_ out of every harlequin romance novel he’s ever seen in bookstores, Jace’s hands slip down to grip his thighs and he hoists Simon up, pushing himself off of the balls of his feet and smoothly getting them both upright.

“I could get used to this.” Simon says, grinning in delight as Jace effortlessly carries him to the staircase railing and perches him on it.

“Mm, well, _don’t_.” Jace smirks, ducking down and nuzzling Simon’s nose. “ _You’re_ the one with the vampire strength, you can pick me up next time.”

“This is something you’re into?” Simon asks interestedly as a light flush creeps over Jace’s cheeks.

“Shut up.” Jace grumbles, and Simon rolls his eyes and presses a kiss to the underside of Jace’s jaw, instead. He’s about to kiss him properly, his hands tugging at Jace’s hair, when –

“Ah. Lovely, but not on my front steps.” Magnus says, opening the door. Simon makes a surprised noise and jerks backward, forgetting that he’s perched precariously on the thin railing, and nearly falls over. Jace’s arms tighten around him and haul him back up, and he’s laughing even as Simon balances himself and then socks Jace’s shoulder. “I see nothing has changed.” Magnus continues, dryly.

“Wonderful.” Alec’s voice sounds from behind Magnus. “I mean, I only had to go through the most embarrassing moments of my life to get there, but it’s all great.”

“ _Hey_.” Jace frowns. “You went through an entire marriage before kissing Magnus, give me a break.”

“Clearly,” Izzy says, making her way past Magnus and Alec with Clary in tow, “we both got together with far less drama, proving once again that lesbians really do it better in every way.”

“I love girls.” Clary agrees, sighing dreamily, and Simon grins.

“Gay.” He mock whispers to Clary as he hops off the railing and tugs on Jace’s hand. “Come on, let’s leave Alec to stew in the horror of being _madly_ , _desperately_ in love with me and go back and figure out what to do with all the roses.”

“The roses.” Izzy groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’m definitely broke from that, you guys.” Clary hums thoughtfully and begins listing suggestions for the flowers, but Simon doesn’t hear her because Jace nudges Simon’s shoulder.

“Simon.” Jace says quietly, leaning in. “For the record. Being in love with you, it’s – pretty great.”

“Being _madly_ , _desperately_ , in love with me?” Simon whispers back, snickering, but he’s surprised by Jace’s soft smile as he squeezes Simon’s hand.

“Being madly, desperately in love with you, yeah.” He confirms, and Simon is suddenly hit with the feeling that _this_ , this is what they mean by a love worth fighting for.

(Izzy and Clary end up pressing all one hundred roses, and they show up as decorations for Simon and Jace’s wedding, four years later.)

**Author's Note:**

> for real kids roses are expensive don't try this at home


End file.
